West Hartford, CT ? The University of Hartford men's soccer team dropped its second-straight conference match of the season, falling to Albany in a 2-1 decision on Wednesday evening. The loss snapped the Hawks' six-game unbeaten streak at Al-Marzook Field, and drops their record to 7-5-2 overall (3-2-0 America East). Albany improves to 10-3-1 overall with a 4-1-1 record in the conference.
The Hawks put the first notch on the scoreboard early in the match, with junior midfielder Ivan Guarin finding the back of the net in the seventh minute of action. Freshman Patrick Boucher set up teammate Carlos Villa, who faked a shot at Great Danes' goalkeeper Steward Ceus. Guarin then stepped up, and drilled the ball straight on the goal past Ceus to give the Hawks an early 1-0 advantage. The goal was Guarin's second of the season, while the assist was Boucher's second.
The Great Danes were quick to retaliate, scoring just 23 seconds later as junior Shaun Kane fired a shot past Hartford goalkeeper Luke Citriniti, netting his eighth goal of the season. Junior Claudio Dantas was credited with the assist which was his seventh on the season.
The Hawks controlled the pace at the offensive side of the pitch for the majority of the first half, taking six shots to the Great Danes' three. Hartford also held a 3-0 advantage over Albany in corner kicks.
The Great Danes came out of the locker room and attacked the Hawks' defense early in the second half, putting the second notch on the scoreboard just three minutes into the period. Sophomore Don Johnson received a pass from freshman Bjorn Bekkers in the 48th minute, and successfully knocked the ball past Citriniti for the eventual game-winning goal.
“We played a team that leads the conference in goals,” commented Hartford head coach Dan Gaspar following the game. “We broke our home winning streak. That is unfortunate. Our target was not to lose at home. We can't expect to win after giving up a goal 23 seconds after we score, and three minutes into the second half.”
Although the Hawks outshot the Great Danes 9-6 while holding a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks in the second half, they were unable to capitalize on any opportunities throughout the final 42 minutes. For the match, Albany keeper Ceus recorded seven total saves, while Citriniti made three stops.
Hartford will close out the home portion of its 2008 America East Conference schedule against Stony Brook on Saturday, October 25. Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m.
